the
jaltcalljournal
issn 1832-4215
Vol. 7, No.2 Pages 207–215
©2011 jalt call sig
Reasons for
using YouTube
in the language
classroom
including practical
usage examples
James York
Tokyo Denki University
yorksensei@gmail.com
Forum
Recent statistical data regarding YouTube
reveals two important factors that may be utilized by language teachers. This paper initially
outlines several theoretical considerations for
the use of video in such contexts before developing an argument regarding the value of this
data and appeal of YouTube in language learning contexts. Following this, the paper gives an
overview of the exploitable statistical data on
YouTube, which is presented with a focus on
the possible motivational, affective and cognitive influences implied. Subsequently, the
second half of the paper is dedicated to introducing practical YouTube-based activities that
teachers may use or modify to suit their individual teaching contexts.
Introduction
Video-based methodologies for language
learning are certainly not a new concept.
A quick online search brings up various
papers dating back to the 1980s, including
a practical report on video-based activities
by Wilkinson (1984) for use in “intermediate level language courses” (p. 84). The
increased availability and reduction in price
of video players, camcorders, and other
video-capable devices allowed more and
more teachers to start to experiment with
video in their various working contexts.
Keeping a focus on language classrooms,
video is often considered an alternative or
replacement to ‘traditional’ media used in
listening comprehension activities such
as cassette tapes and CDs (e.g., Wilkinson,
1984).
With the global propagation of the
Internet-based video source YouTube, video
has evolved from the traditional view of
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pre-recorded medium on VHS or DVD. We now have on-demand video regarding almost any
subject imaginable. In this article, a number of reasons for the usage of video in language
learning (L2) contexts are introduced before expanding this argument to the use of various
videos found on YouTube. The secondary aim of the paper is to present several practical
activities based on videos from YouTube, all of which can be modified in accordance with
teachers’ individual pedagogical needs.
Literature review
This section begins with an introduction to the cognitive reasons for the inclusion of video
in language classrooms, making reference to previous relevant studies. Following this,
affective reasons are introduced with a focus on how videos available from YouTube may
influence students’ motivation to study.
Cognitive reasons for the use of audio-visuals
Listening activities typically require students to listen to and then answer comprehension
questions based on a conversation, interaction or discussion between two or more people.
If video involving human speech in an interactive context is used in such cases, students
can successfully interpret body language, or other non-verbal, paralinguistic information,
which may aid their comprehension. A study by Herron (1995) suggests that when a visual
stimulus is used in conjuncture with spoken language, student comprehension scores
improved significantly. Such claims are also reinforced by Lake (2003) who cites Asher
(1993) in saying that there must be an image attached to the mental representation of a
word in order to retain and use it. Numerous other studies also support the use of video
in language classrooms based on the importance of including non-verbal, paralinguistic
components of communication to assist learners in their understanding and construction
of meaning when conducting listening activities (for example Gruba, 2004; Hasan, 2000;
Shin, 1998).
Literature on the use of video in the L2 classroom suggests that it may help students to
visualize word meanings. For example, Iwasaki (2009) writes, “Visuals can help dramatize
meaning” (p. 3). In keeping with this idea, Shrosbree (2008) provides us with a quote that
underpins the notion for considering video over audio-only sources for listening activities:
There is an obvious appeal to using video in the language classroom. Instead of the
rather unnatural task of listening to a disembodied voice emanating from an audio
player, learners are able to see the speaker and elements of the surrounding environment (p. 75).
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Indeed, even as native speakers, when we interact or converse with others, we usually see
their faces. If we consider instances of interaction that are not face-to-face – such as in
computer-mediated-communication – for both synchronous and asynchronous interactions, a huge range of emotion icons (i.e. emoticons) and other visual representations of
paralinguistic cues are employed as a substitute for face-to-face contact, implying that
paralinguistic (or body language) cues are an important part of communication (Joy, 2009).
Additionally, the multi-sensory aspect of video may help reduce the cognitive demands on
learners, where the more senses utilized when acquiring new language, the easier this
knowledge may enter our long-term memory (Swaffar & Vlatten 1997).
York: Reasons for using YouTube
The cognitive support provided by video in language classrooms has been studied where
some, such as Medina, find that it may help second language learners acquire vocabulary
and grammar, improve spelling and develop the linguistic skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening” (2002, p. 1). Additionally, Weyers (1999) found that video-based instruction appears to improve students oral production and in particular confidence in their
speech. However, in contrast to these studies, Wagner (2007) has argued that it is unknown
as to whether students learn from what they hear or from what they see. Wood (1999) also
argues that video alone does not provide sufficient impetus for language learning, however, when used with appropriate support material, can “activate the passive knowledge of
language learners in particular, and assist with language assimilation and transfer, both
in terms of that language presented as well as that which is implicitly suggested” (p. 95).
Audiovisuals appeal to multiple learning styles
This section shall attempt to show that not all learners learn in the same way. According
to the VARK guide to learning styles – a comprehensive guide to learning styles by Fleming
(2001) – learners can be classified into either one or the other of the following four main
learning styles or have two or more learning preferences (aka. multimodal):
ȻȻ Visual –process knowledge from maps, charts, spider diagrams etc.
ȻȻ Aural – prefer information that is spoken or heard.
ȻȻ Reading (or writing) – prefer to receive information via the written word.
ȻȻ Kinesthetic – process knowledge through bodily sensations (Gardner, 2006). The
key point about kinesthetic learners is that they can learn from either real or
simulated experiences, which can be interpreted as learning from movies, or other
models of the foreign language in use.
From looking at the four learning styles, we can see that completing a listening activity via
a CD (assuming aural only information) would be an appropriate source of input for the
aural learners. However, using a video (aural and visual information) seems appealing to
multiple learning styles: aural, visual and kinesthetic learners.
Affective reasons for the use of audiovisuals
According to the Input Hypothesis (Krashen, 1985), teachers have an obligation to provide
learners with not only an abundance of interesting, meaningful and relevant learning
materials, but additionally create a learning environment that helps to lower their affective filter. This links to theories of motivations, which suggest that learner motivation may
be directly related to language acquisition, and the higher a learner’s motivation is, the
easier a language is acquired.
This paper argues that YouTube may provide suitable learning material to effect students’
motivation and affective filter in a positive way. Among the results of a recent statistical
analysis of YouTube, two statistics in particular help outline my argument and have implications regarding how YouTube may be exploited in the language classroom, according to
Metekohy (2010):
ȻȻ 70% of YouTube traffic comes from outside the US.
ȻȻ 24 hours of video is uploaded every minute.
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The first statistic tells us that our students may very well be familiar with YouTube. If they
are familiar with the medium, it may help lower the affective filter (Krashen 1982), and in
turn increase student motivation. Unlike a compulsory textbook, which students associate
specifically with L2, they may associate YouTube with time spent having fun in their free
time – a factor that may increase student motivation.
The second statistic shows that there is an abundance of material available from youtube.
com, some of which may be of use for pedagogical purposes. Although too much choice
may make it hard to choose suitable teaching material, with in-built search facilities and
related videos appearing on the same web page, YouTube can be navigated intuitively, and
videos can be found with little difficulty. Therefore, YouTube may present language teachers with a useable medium for introducing language points, finding topics for discussion,
or examples of authentic English, with proper guidance and suggested videos available on
the site. Additionally, with 24 hours of new video being uploaded each minute, educators
can use videos relating to news stories in real time as they unfold.
Attention should be taken when selecting videos for use with young or adolescent learners due to the adult nature of some YouTube videos. Although registered users can only
access videos with particularly strong adult themes, many videos may contain inappropriate language or themes with mild violence or sexual references. Some videos may also
contain images or themes that are considered controversial or indecent to some cultures,
so teachers should be careful when searching for videos on YouTube to use as appropriate
teaching materials.
Implications of the “15 Minute Upload Limit”
Regular YouTube accounts are limited to uploading videos of a maximum length of 15 minutes. This has very positive implications for language teachers and learners. With a limit
set to 15 minutes, we find users creating short and concise movies, animations, product
reviews, etc. that start and finish within this time period. In other words, without looking
too far, complete stories with a start, middle, and end that only last up to 15 minutes can
be found on YouTube. Using such a complete story compared to isolating a specific scene
from a feature-length movie on DVD, here are some advantages for teachers:
ȻȻ Context is usually outlined as the story progresses, meaning that students do not
need to be given context-setting information before watching. Conversely then,
using short stories or movies can promote students to pay attention to or think
about contextual information as it appears.
ȻȻ Canning (2000) suggests that video should be shown in short periods as apposed
to showing a full feature-length movie without intermediate comprehension
activities. With a 15-minute time limit, YouTube seems to offer video in a ‘bite-size’
format of appropriate length, allowing the teacher to conduct comprehension
activities afterwards, and if necessary replay the video in its entirety, without
losing the attention of students.
ȻȻ The theme of the video/movie is often narrow, which implies that students can
brainstorm concepts or vocabulary they think will be relevant before watching.
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The second part of the paper introduces four different activities using videos found on
YouTube. Two of the activities appear under the same heading as they are not completely
unique activities, but two variations of one activity.
York: Reasons for using YouTube
Activities using YouTube 1: Two ways of doing a dictogloss
The first way is to do a traditional dictogloss activity, with the use of video to aid student
comprehension. Preparation for this activity requires the teacher to create a short narrative text based on the contents of a chosen YouTube video before the lesson is carried out
in class. The lesson plan follows:
1. Preparation stage: The teacher explains each stage of the dictogloss activity and prepares the learners by introducing the topic and important vocabulary from the text.
Students could also be asked to brainstorm vocabulary that they think may be relevant
to the topic.
2. Dictation stage: The learners listen to a text read by the teacher at least two times.
Standard procedure is for them to not write anything during the first listening to maximize potential comprehension and to get a feeling for the whole text. During the second
listening, the learners take notes to help them reconstruct the text, and following the
reading they start to reconstruct the text individually.
3. Reconstruction stage: Learners work together in small groups to reconstruct the text.
It is at this point where teachers may choose to show the video that the dictogloss text is
based on. The reason being that at this point students are undertaking the most demanding
part of the dictogloss activity meaning that motivation towards completing the task can
start to decrease. Showing students a video of the text they have just heard is an excellent
source of motivation as they can compare their stories to the visual, as well as their own
notes. The visual clues in the video can also be a good prompt to things they have missed
out of their dictation.
4. Analysis and correction stage: Learners check and compare their reconstructions as
a whole class. Individual groups’ reconstructions are compared to the original text to
confirm which differences are acceptable.
The second way is a modified version of the above dictogloss activity where instead of the
teacher creating and reading a text to students, they watch the chosen video and then think
about how they could narrate it. I have included a dictogloss worksheet to help understand
how to complete this activity in the appendix.
1. Again, start with students brainstorming vocabulary around a specific subject, or give
them a premade word cloud1 to discuss with their groups/partners.
2. Show students the video that you want them to narrate.
3. Students write words from the movie that they think may be useful onto their worksheet. It is a good idea to get students to check the words with each other to increase
the amount of words each student has written.
4. Watch the video again. Before the viewing though, tell students to think about how they
could illustrate what happens in six (or however many you designate) frames similar to
a comic. Give students a time limit to complete their drawings. This is not an art class!
5. After they have completed their storyboards, have students create a caption underneath
each picture describing what happens in each scene.
6. Finally there are two follow-up options: (1) have students read their captions to each
other so that they can compare their linguistic accuracy (but more importantly, other
peoples take on the story); and/or (2) play the video one more time, and have students
give their narrations individually, or to the rest of the class as it plays.
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This is one of my favourite YouTube based activities and the author has written about it in
more detail, including examples of student work on my blog2.
Activities using YouTube 2: Getting the most out of music videos
Songs are typically used in ESL/FL classrooms as a source for listening activities. Such
activities include cloze-gap exercises, counting how many times a particular word is said,
discussing what the song means, or describing how the song makes you feel. The same
type of activity can of course be completed if a music video is used, but using a music video
means that additional comprehension or extension activities may be created.
The original idea for this activity was found in Iwasaki (2009) where she outlines various ways audio-visuals can be used as teaching materials. This particular lesson uses the
song “Fight for Your Right to Party” (Beastie Boys, 1986) to teach about American subculture, specifically the rebellious nature of adolescents, slang terms, and colloquial English
usage. I propose ways in which the video may be used as the source for both listening and
speaking activities.
There are a number of activities that could be implemented based on this song:
ȻȻ Spot the lyrics – How many times do you hear each word?
ȻȻ Focus on the lyrics – Rhyming used in rap or slang words in general. ȻȻ Contrast with the way students behave in Japan – Similarities and differences.
ȻȻ Speak about rebellious things have you done and compare with a partner.
All of the above activities could be completed without the video. However, when using video,
we are able to create even more expansion activities. In this example, the video shows a
number of youths doing things that are considered rebellious. An extension activity could
be for students to identify such rebellious acts from the video. Once they have done this,
they could then compare their notes with their partner, or the rest of the class.
When using video in L2 classrooms it is important to make sure that there is a specific
reason for using it. If the same activity can be completed using an audio source only, then
why use video? It is only going to be seen as a distraction if not fully utilized.
Activities using YouTube 3: What happens next?
A simple activity that can get students thinking is the “What happens next” activity (Keddie,
2010). The activity requires students to guess what will happen after the teacher pauses
a video halfway through. One positive aspect of this activity is that it appeals to a whole
range of student ability levels and ages. The basic structure for this activity is given below.
1. Make sure the video is in full screen mode before you show it to students. The reason
for this is that most video titles actually give away the ending.
2. Play the video to students and check comprehension at key points. Introduce new vocabulary if necessary.
3. Give hints as to who the main characters or people in the video are.
4. Ask students to guess what they think will happen. If necessary, provide students with
the start of an example sentence: “I think … is going to [will] …”
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To motivate students to write, Keddie suggests that students should be told to “be as
York: Reasons for using YouTube
imaginative as possible and that everyone must write something down if they want to see
the end of the clip”.
5. Students write down what they think will happen on paper.
6. The teacher collects in the papers, highlights any trends, and corrects errors.
7. Finally, play the end of the video and praise those students who guessed correctly.
The next activity uses a video titled, “Kid slam dunks HIMSELF3” to demonstrate the basic
framework in more detail.
1. After making sure the video is in full screen mode, start the video.
2. Pause the video at around 10 seconds and ask students what they think is going to happen. Words such as dunk [a ball], basketball, net, and [jump on a] trampoline can be elicited
here. It may also be important to outline that there are often performances during the
breaks at basketball games.
3. After the performers have completed their first show (around the 35 seconds mark),
elicit some more vocabulary and phrases such as acrobat, bounce [off the backboard], [do
a] somersault, spin [in the air] and gorilla.
4. Continue to watch the video until around 1:25 and explain that there is one more performance to come and that you would like them to guess what the man (who dunks
himself) is going to do. If necessary, give them the start of the sentence: “I think he is
going to…”
5. At this point, students write their predictions and hand them in.
6. Go through their submissions, correct errors and watch the end of the video.
As a follow up activity, students can be asked to review what they wrote with “I thought he
was going to…” reviewing the structure “was going to”.
Conclusion
This article looked at a number of reasons for using YouTube in L2 classrooms with a focus
on cognitive and affective reasons. Consideration was also given to students’ different
learning styles. While some studies have been inconclusive regarding the benefit of video
in L2 contexts, I have argued that video is useful in reducing cognitive load on learners and
appeals to multiple learning styles. Affective reasons for the use of video was argued from
the standpoint that there is a good possibility that are students are familiar with YouTube
which could have an positive influence on their motivation.
The second half of the article introduced a number of activities based on YouTube videos.
Two ways of doing a dictogloss were introduced including a modified version specifically
for use with silent movies found on YouTube to hone narrative/story-telling skills. The use
of music videos instead of CDs (audio-only sources) was also introduced with the key point
being that there must be a specific reason for using the video version. Expansion activities
based on the visual are thus recommended. Finally, an activity using bloopers or other funny
videos found on YouTube was introduced as the impetus for a ‘what happens next’ activity.
Notes
1. Word clouds are an excellent way to introduce vocabulary and can be created at: http://
www.wordle.net/
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2. http://yorksensei.blogspot.com for more information.
3. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km1KanJziac
References
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York: Reasons for using YouTube
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Author biodata
James York has taught a wide range of age levels from kindergarten to university students.
He is currently employed at Tokyo Denki University as a full-time English lecturer. He is
committed to performing classroom-based research, where his research interests include
implementing Web 2.0 technologies in the EFL classroom and the relationship to student
motivation.
Appendix
The dictogloss worksheet
Name Student Number Date Useful Words
Draw the story in six scenes then write a caption to explain what is going on.
1
2
English:
English:
3
4
English:
English:
5
6
English:
English:
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